October 30, 200817 yr Gosh! You must have little hills, I can get over 40mph on the way to work. No wonder you needed to upgrade the brakes. does it feel stable at that speed? regards seeker
October 30, 200817 yr No wonder you needed to upgrade the brakes. does it feel stable at that speed? regards seeker It feels a little more stable at high speed, the only unstable part of it is me trying to duck down out of the wind.
October 30, 200817 yr It feels a little more stable at high speed, the only unstable part of it is me trying to duck down out of the wind. OK, getting scary images of an unguided missile now. Please tell me your doing this on a long wide road that you can see for miles on? worried regards seeker
October 30, 200817 yr OK, getting scary images of an unguided missile now. Please tell me your doing this on a long wide road that you can see for miles on? worried regards seeker Of course.
October 30, 200817 yr I make all my own decisions based on my own judgement Poppy, doing those speeds when I judge it to be safe. Since I've never as much as scratched myself from cycling over 62 years, I'm beginning to trust my judgement. It depends on the bike of course, some far safer at high speed than others, and where the bike isn't suitable I keep the speed to what is safe on that one. After all, I'm happy cruising at over 110 mph for long periods on a motorbike (on private land of course ), so well under half that on a stable two wheeler in safe road conditions isn't so serious. .I stand duly chastised by your first paragraph.
October 30, 200817 yr Ok Flecc, I'm sure you've got a wisper too. I got mine at the end of July this year and I don't anything like the peformace your getting. Uphill I do about 11, on the flat I'll get 17 if there's no head wind and downhill no more than 27 (30 if I pedal like a nutter, very uncool). I reckon you've probabley taken yours to bits and rebulit it with loads of modifications. How can I get to go as fast as yours? grovelling regards seeker Not a Wisper seeker, but this one. .
October 30, 200817 yr I stand duly chastised by your first paragraph. No intention to chastise Poppy. Some of us enjoy speed and I'm one of them, but others really don't like it at all, and I suspect that describes you. There's no right or wrong in this of course, just personal differences. I think either is intrinsically just as safe as the other, those liking speed being prepared through regular usage to cope with it, those who prefer to travel more slowly only conditioned to coping with that. All other things equal, the end result is that both are likely to be just as safe. It's when individuals go against type that accidents are likely to happen, such as the slow rider suddenly using unaccustomed speeds, or the fast rider trying to do a slow trip and letting his attention wander. .
October 30, 200817 yr 45mph!?! I'm sorry, my mistake. I thought this was the Electric Bicycle Forum.:o Thanks that was funny Flecc - These high speeds seem to be down longer steeper hills. My personal best was 34 MPH. The hill just wasn't long enough. It was madness but it had to be done . Not that I don't like speed just that everytime I get to cycle down a decent hill theres bumps, potholes, poorly finished roadworks, manhole covers, parked cars all coming at me far too fast to dodge (especially with cars constantly sneaking up behind me). The lack of suspension doesn't help either. I feared for the poor hub motor in the front wheel not to mention my backside. So I guess it's mostly down to terrain. Also a good freewheel and plenty of extra weight don't go amiss.
October 31, 200817 yr Flecc - These high speeds seem to be down longer steeper hills. Only sometimes, I do over 40 mph at times down a fairly short but very steep one, where it's all the more enjoyable as it's past a Gatso speed camera. Naughty? Not in any way, UK speed limits don't apply to bicycles since they are part of motor vehicle legislation. .
October 31, 200817 yr Naughty? Not in any way, UK speed limits don't apply to bicycles since they are part of motor vehicle legislation. . Is that so? Now that I've got a few things sorted, I can easily go over 30 on a downhill, but I've been putting the brakes on to avoid drawing attention. I bet the average policeman would assume the 30 mph limit applied to bikes. Explaining otherwise to him would probably make the situation worse. Nick
October 31, 200817 yr I give up! Surrounded by speed freaks. And some of you over 60, to boot. Haven´t any of you any incident whose effects would have been less serious if you had benn riding at a much lower speed...? I´m afraid I know the answer to that.
October 31, 200817 yr Is that so? Now that I've got a few things sorted, I can easily go over 30 on a downhill, but I've been putting the brakes on to avoid drawing attention. I bet the average policeman would assume the 30 mph limit applied to bikes. Explaining otherwise to him would probably make the situation worse. Nick Never heard of a cyclist being done for speeding. Most bikes don't have speedos so how would we know :confused
October 31, 200817 yr Looks like you can be done for the old offence of "cycling furiously" but not for speeding.
October 31, 200817 yr Never heard of a cyclist being done for speeding. Most bikes don't have speedos so how would we know :confused Cyclists get speeding tickets in Richmond park, there's some bylaw restricting them to 5mph. This goes against the usual law and the fact that most pushbikes don't have speedos, but then park police are far from normal themselves.
October 31, 200817 yr ? Cyclists get speeding tickets in Richmond park, there's some bylaw restricting them to 5mph. This goes against the usual law and the fact that most pushbikes don't have speedos, but then park police are far from normal themselves. So how do they work this law exactly? Arm they armed with speed guns?
October 31, 200817 yr The UK road speed limits are all in motor vehicle legislation that also requires motor vehicles to have speedometers, so bikes are ruled out on both counts. A police officer has various offences open to his judgement though, such as dangerous riding, so prosecution is still possible with magistrates court rubber stamping of the PCs opinion likely. So wariness is still advisable. Bye-laws can apply to places like parks, and there are many locations with advisory speed limit signs such as 5 mph which have no force in law. Once again though, in the event of an accident, ignoring such advisory signs could lead to legal consequences with courts accepting opinions of actual speed from witnesses. In fairness, with 4 mph being a fast walk, virtually anyone is able to determine that someone is travelling at appreciably above 5 mph, so witness evidence is good enough. .
November 11, 200817 yr Are you still in and around Cambridge, Russ? There was cyclist, heavy build with calves the size of beer barrels, who i could never beat on a derestricted Torq - I encountered him on the route up to Waterbeach along the Cam and out on the other side towards Coton and Barton. Must have been incredibly fit and strong to keep up that pace for mile after mile. Sorry Tim, I failed to spot your post. Yes, although closer to Newmarket now. Being a bit more rural I have yet to meet anyone on an electric bike, but there are lots of commuters on normal bikes.
November 13, 200817 yr I love to see an 'ordinary' cyclist ahead of me, can't wait to pass him or her, using throttle only of course to heighten the effect of 'superiority'. (Probably wrong word but you know what I mean).
Join the conversation
You are posting as a guest. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.